A trio of American short stories by varied writers have been linked by Dark Horse Theatre Group, a New York City company devoted to adapting short stories for the stage, to form a new play, Train Stories, set on a cross-country train.
Academy Award nominee and dancer Leslie Browne, of "The Turning Point," stars in the piece drawing on works by Ring Lardner, Mary McCarthy and John O'Hara. Performances are May 6-23 at the Sanford Meisner Theatre Off-Broadway. Dubbed "a cross-country adventure," the new piece by adapters Cindy Sandmann and Carol Goodheart draws on Lardner¹s "Travelogue," Mary McCarthy¹s "The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt" and O¹Hara¹s "Drawing Room B" and creates one play, set on a 1930s transcontinental train heading west to Los Angeles.
Browne, who played opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov in "The Turning Point" (1977) -- and earned an Oscar nomination for it -- stars as Peggy, the character in the McCarthy story.
Director-co-adaptor Goodheart directed American Century, Love, Glamour & Disillusionment and City Lives, City Stories for the Dark Horse Theatre. She recently directed the New York Premiere of Flaherty's Window by Colum McCann for the Daedalus Theatre and the New York premiere of Horton Foote¹s Talking Pictures at the Signature Theatre.
Actress-dancer Browne gained early fame as a principal with American Ballet Theatre where she danced major roles to great acclaim. She also starred in the films ³Nijinsky² and ³Dancers²; on PBS¹ ³Dance in America²; in the New York City Opera production of ³Brigadoon²; on Broadway in ³The Red Shoes² and Off-Broadway in ³The Laying of Hands.² The new role is not dance-oriented. The cast also includes Brian Coates, Abbe Levin, Cindy Sandmann, Chandra Jessee, Andrew Benedict, Mark Zeisler, Michael Stevenson and Don Clark Williams.
Performances begin May 6 and continue through May 23 at the Meisner Theatre, 164 Eleventh Avenue (between 22nd & 23rd Streets opposite Chelsea Piers). Tickets are $15 (TDF vouchers accepted). For reservations call (212) 714-8127.
The Dark Horse Theatre Group Ltd. was founded in 1992 by producer artistic director Cindy Sandmann who has focused on adapting short stories -- especially those from the 1930's and 40's -- into plays. Train Stories is the not-for-profit company¹s sixth production.
-- By Kenneth Jones
